As Easy as 'Snap'ping
by Bridgette Potter
Summary: What happens when Hawkeye just suddenly snaps? Read to find out. Of course there's going to be HM. Are you kidding?
1. Chapter 1

As Easy as 'Snap'ping

"Sorry folks. Wounded coming in 10 minutes. All medical teams to tre-oj," said the bringer of bad news on the loud speaker.

People groaned all through out the compound but none louder than two drunken surgeons. One had messy black hair and rumpled clothes from his late night. He was the head surgeon and had only just gotten into bed. The other was a bit gray around the edges and had a cheesy mustache. They groaned again and rolled over to sit up. Half drunkenly, half sleepily they tugged on their boots and put on some pants. And followed their tent mate Charles out of the tent known to others as the Swamp and out into the chilly night air.

The head surgeon shivered and regretted not grabbing a coat. "Hey B.J. when did we get in?"

B.J. looked at his watch. "Oh say about an hour ago." He started to laugh. "Phew. That sure was a night though."

Before they knew it they heard several ambulances drive up. They gazed at the 3 that stood in front of them as the other people milled around checking everything. They looked down further the road and found several more driving up. "They sent us a whole damn army," scoffed the chief surgeon. He combed his fingers through his messy jet black hair. "It's going to be a looong night." His companion nodded his agreement and they set off to check on the wounded.

The hours ticked by and finally the surgeons hobbled into their changing room. They all slumped onto the nearest piece of furniture. Wearily they threw their soiled clothes into the laundry bins.

"Hey Charlie, where were you last night?" asked the head surgeon as he combed his hands through his already rumpled hair. He turned to his left and looked at the person waiting for his answer.

"I was resting when you two hooligans went and drank yourselves silly. And my name is Charles as you fully know _Capitan_," said the major emphasizing his companions rank.

"Now, now Charlie there's no need to call each other's ranks. And _my_ name is _Hawkeye_ as you fully know _Major_," said the chief surgeon mimicking the superior officer.

Then just as Charles opened his mouth to reply to Hawkeye's snide remark Colonel Potter the camps C.O. interrupted, "Hold your horses sonnies. We've all been working most of a day. It's already past noon. We've all been working for 18 hours straight. I suggest we all go get something to eat then go get some rest." He raised his eyebrows in dominance. "Okay dokey?"

"Okay dokey," they all replied in unison. They finished changing and headed toward to the mess tent. They all lined up to receive their daily torture.

Hawkeye wrinkled his nose as Igor put something furry on his tray. "What is that Igor?" he asked disgustedly.

"Oh it's canned vegetables," the cook replied.

Hawkeye rolled his eyes and dropped his tray on the serving table. "I think I'll just settle with coffee." He poured himself some of the steamy liquid and went and sat with B.J. and Charles. He ran his fingers through his hair again and sighed. "Oh my god. I hate this hellhole. I can't believe I operated on that little girl. What was she? Seven? Oh I don't know. Everyday children like her die. I couldn't even save _her_. I hate this war. It kills innocent people everyday. It doesn't matter how old they are either. Koreans and Americans alike kill bystanders who can do nothing to stop it." He was now in a rage and was practically shouting. B.J. and Charles tried to calm him down but he was just getting started. "I hate this war. I hate this hellhole that people around here love. I hate the government that sent us over here. I hate the army. I even hate my-," he stopped abruptly fuming. He sat down quietly and when he noticed that everyone was staring at him he shouted, "What?" and they all turned back to their food.

B.J. glanced at him sideways. "What's the matter Hawk? You're hardly eating and you've been moody lately." Hawkeye didn't answer him and turned so his back was to B.J. He surveyed the tent as if it was all of a sudden his top priority. B.J. sighed as Hawkeye finished his coffee and walked back to the Swamp to be alone.

Major Houlihan came over after Hawkeye left and said, "What's the matter with him?" B.J. shook his head. Margaret patted his arm, winked at him, and said, "Maybe I can get an answer out of him." She gave him a smile and followed Hawkeye to his tent.

Margaret knocked on the door's wooden frame. When there was no reply she quietly opened the door and peered inside. She saw Hawkeye sitting on his cot with his head between his hands. "Hawk," she called gently, "May I come in?" He didn't say anything but shrugged his shoulders. He looked a bit depressed. She walked in and closed the door softly. She stood watching him. "What's the matter Hawk? Usually you would already have made several offers to share a cot. You're not your usual jackass self." She gently placed her hand on his arm but drew back when he slapped it as if it was a large spider. "What the hell is the matter with you?" she asked angrily.

Hawkeye looked over at her and said with a small smile, "Did you know you look sexy when you're angry?" He leaned over and wrapped an arm around her waist and pulled her closer.

Margaret slapped his hand and stepped back. "I'm not here to talk about me. I'm here to talk about you. You're not your usual self. Now if it's nothing important get up," said Margaret with her hands on her hips. When Hawkeye didn't make a move to get up she went over and tried to get him up.

When she couldn't get him up, she looked down and saw him shaking with anger. He stood up and shoved her hands off of him. "Leave me alone. Damn it Margaret," he growled at her as the six foot something doctor towered over her.

Margaret involuntary back up but said holding her ground, "No, I'm not leaving _Capitan_ until you tell me what's wrong."

"You want to know what's wrong? You want to know what's wrong?" He started to pace like an animal in a cage. "There are a million things wrong. What's wrong is this war! What's wrong is this hellhole! I had to operate on a little girl no more than 7 today and she didn't even live! Plus what happened to-." He abruptly stopped his rant and looked at Margaret as if she was the only good thing about this.

Margaret backed up again because she didn't like the way that Hawkeye was eyeing her but asked soothingly, "What happened Hawkeye?" She moved toward the red-faced man who was trying to catch his breath from yelling.

"Nothing," he muttered. He sat down on his cot again and ran his fingers through his hair again.

"You can tell m-," started Margaret.

"Damn it! Just stop it! Leave me alone! I just want to be alone!" said Hawkeye as he stood up again.

"I'm not leaving Hawkeye until you tell me what's wro-," started Margaret again.

"Damn it Margaret! Leave me alone!" he yelled. He started throwing his martini glasses at the wall then after he ran out he picked up a black object that he had set out earlier and pointed it at Margaret.


	2. Chapter 2

Thank you for the wonderful reviews ya'll! I really enjoyed them! Now for more of As Easy As 'Snap'ping!

* * *

"Pierce I don't think you know what you're doing. Now just set the gun down and one will get hurt," said Margaret nervously. She started to back up again but walked into Charles' cot. She sat down and stared into the barrel of the .45 Hawkeye had pointed at her.

"Oh I think I do know what I'm doing. I'm going to get out of this dump and you're coming with me," said Hawkeye as he stepped closer.

Margaret tried coming up with a way for her to get out of there or how to disarm him. But he seemed like he had snapped and you never know what a crazy person would do if attacked. Margaret looked up into his eyes and saw that they shone brightly with insanity.

"Now you're going to go to Colonel Potter's office and ask him for 3 day passes for both of us. Don't think about telling him about this either. I'm going to be right behind you with this." He started to wave the gun around. He motioned toward the door with his head.

Margaret slowly walked toward the door. She didn't want to put her back to a crazy man and just stood in the doorway trying not to shake like a frightened rabbit. "Open the door," he growled. She slowly opened the door and backed out of the tent. "Act normal Margaret. We don't want Potter to get suspicious," he said as he cocked the gun, "Now do we?"

She quickly turned and walked across the compound to the office a little to quickly than normal. Hawkeye followed her with the gun in his pocket but it was pointed at her the whole time. He glanced at everything suspiciously.

He walked in hearing Margaret trying to get Potter to give both of them 3 day passes to Tokyo. "You really don't need us sir. You're expecting hardly any if any wounded in the next few days. I think you can spare us."

"Now why would my head nurse and chief surgeon want to go together to Tokyo and these are the same head nurse and chief surgeon who happen to despise each other?" asked Potter suspiciously. "Unless you guys are…?" He raised his eyebrows in question.

Margaret caught his drift and almost blanched. Hawkeye came up to her and pressed himself onto her back and wrapped an arm around her slim waist. And with his free arm he nudged the gun into her back as a reminder and said, "Yep. Ol' Hot Lips and I are in love." He kissed the top of her head and she smiled weakly.

Colonel Potter shook his head in disbelief but said, "Okay you guys can have your passes."

Hawkeye gave a small whoop of joy and hugged Margaret like he would have done as if they were really in love. "Yippee. We're going to Tokyo."

Potter looked at him strangely. "Radar," he called. He waited until the boy came and started, "Get Capitan Pierce and Major Houlihan a jeep and the papers needed for the 3 day passes."

"I got a jeep for the Capitan and the Major and here are the papers," said Radar as Potter told him the commands. He placed the papers on Potter's desk and hurried out.

Potter signed the papers and told them, "Okay-dokey you folks should go pack up if you're going to make it to Tokyo by nightfall. See ya in three days." He slapped Pierce on the shoulder and showed them out. As they walked out he thought he saw a metallic glint in Hawkeye's pocket. "Radar tell me when they're all ready to leave," he called as he stood between their offices. Radar nodded and went back to his paperwork.

First they went over to Margaret's tent to pack up her stuff for their trip. As they packed her stuff Hawkeye found something at the bottom of her footlocker. He smiled and held it up to the light and smiled wickedly at Margaret. "Would you care to explain this Major?" he asked as he fingered the sheer cloth of her lingerie.

She quickly looked up and narrowed her icy green eyes at him. "It's none of your business," she hissed. She quickly grabbed it from him and stuffed it back into her footlocker. As they continued packing Hawkeye noticed Margaret slip the lingerie into her suitcase. He smiled to himself as he looked through her desk for anything to pack.

Next they went to the Swamp where B.J. and Charles were having a halfhearted argument over Charles' music. They looked at them oddly as they both packed Hawkeye's things. "Where are you going Hawk?" asked B.J. as he poured himself a drink from the still.

"Hot Lips and I are going to Tokyo for 3 days," said Hawkeye as he packed a Hawaiian shirt.

B.J. spewed the sip he had taken and looked at Hawkeye and Margaret in surprise. "You're what?!"

"Going to Tokyo," said Hawkeye a little distracted as he surveyed his suitcase. He looked up at B.J. and Charles. They were gaping at him unbelievingly. "What? We just happened to fall in love when she came to talk to me." He smiled crazily and picked up his suitcase. He looked around for anything else, waved goodbye to his tent mates and threw his suitcase into the waiting jeep.

Colonel Potter came walking out. "I'm just hoping you kids could give me your word you're coming back," he said jokingly.

The 'couple' got into the jeep and Hawkeye flashed him a smile. "Now we can't promise that Colonel." He started up the jeep and drove out of the compound.

"I hope those crazy kids come back," said Potter sadly. He had noticed the metallic glint again.

"They will sir," said Radar from Potter's elbow.

"I hope you're right," Potter sighed. He walked to his office and called the Tokyo Retreat Center.

"Ohh, I can't wait to get Home and to have some Maine lobster with melted butter," said Hawkeye as he slapped the wheel anticipation.

"You do know you'll never make it? You need certain papers to leave Korea. All we have are some 3 day passes," said Margaret bitterly. She crossed her arms in defiance to his rule over her with the gun.

"You don't understand. I'm leaving one way or another Margaret and no one's going to stop me. Not even this damn army," he said as he glanced over at her.

She let the matter drop. It was no use arguing with a crazy man and watched the scenery go by in a blur of brown with small patches of dull green. Then she heard the shouting. "What's that?" she asked.

Hawkeye stopped the jeep and turned it off. He sat and listened with her until he could hear it too. "Damn it. Just as I thought I was home bound those damn North Koreans decide to attack us. Hold onto your pantyhose Hot Lips." He quickly turned the ignition on the jeep, as the shouts grew closer. It wouldn't start up. "Damn it," he muttered and tried it again this time it started just as they could see the bushes on the left start moving. Hawkeye sharply turned right and drove into a forest that was actually quite lush. He floored it and sent them deep into the forest.

After about fifteen miles he stopped the jeep, turned it off and leaned back tiredly. They couldn't hear the shouts anymore so he sighed loudly and rubbed his eyes. "Oh my god. What did I just do?" he asked himself as if he had become sane again.

Margaret who had been clutching the seat answered him angrily, "You just kidnapped me. That's what you just did. Now we have North Koreans who know we're here. They'll probably bomb this forest now trying to find us. That's what you just did." She folded her arms and shot him an icy glare.

He sighed again and avoided her stare. "I'll be back," he said, "I'll go look for some water." He stepped out of the jeep and started to walk away from her aimlessly.

Margaret looked down and noticed that he hadn't grabbed the canteen. They hadn't even drank any water yet and she picked it up and shook it. The sound that she heard indicated it was still full. She looked around for Hawkeye but couldn't find him. She decided to leave him alone because obviously he wanted to be by himself. She crossed her arms in front of her and waited to see which of the two sanities was coming back.


	3. Chapter 3

Margaret woke up slowly. She stretched and realized she must have fallen asleep while waiting for Hawkeye to return. He hadn't come back. She put her arm over the back of the driver seat and pulled her hair out of her sleepy face. She lay there collecting her thoughts when she had the sensation of being watched. Her eyes snapped open and she sat up like lightening looking for the eyes that felt like a hawk was watching her. She quickly turned looking for the invisible spectator. Then she noticed a figure sitting at the base of a near by tree and saw the familiar piercing blue eyes of the supposedly insane surgeon. When their eyes locked together, inside she felt herself turn into jelly. It was a good thing she was sitting or else her legs would have buckled. _"Get a grip on your self Houlihan,"_ she told her self as she straightened her self. "How long have you been there Pierce?"

Hawkeye kept looking at her somberly and said, "Long enough."

She arched an eyebrow and crossed her arms. "Long enough for what?"

This time he shrugged and finally looked away from her toward the ground. Then he smiled wickedly and shot her a glance and winked. "Long enough to know you think I'm the sexiest man you've ever met."

Margaret uncrossed her arms and stood up looking at him flabbergasted. _"What the hell is he talking about? Do I talk in my sleep? No, get a hold on yourself. You don't think that about that jackass and you never will. You love Donald. Remember." _Hawkeye started to laugh loudly, rolling on the ground gasping for breath when he saw how comical the major looked with her wrinkled clothes, messed up hair that was starting to frizz and the shock on her face. She tried to compose herself and said, ""I don't know what you're talking about _Capitan_."

He stopped laughing and looked at her gravely. "We're not in the army anymore _Major_. Remember? We're AWAL."

"I'm not going AWAL," snapped Margaret angrily. "Where did you get this we? You kidnapped me remember?" She cringed a little on the inside. She didn't mean to sound that cruel. She saw how he looked hurt. She was having as much fun as she has on a Ferris wheel and she hated those but it was nice to have a friend like Hawkeye with her even though he was the one who had kidnapped her. She was just about to mumble an apology when they heard a whistling sound a ways off.

Time seemed to stop as the sound grew louder as it approached the ground. Then there was silence for a second before the resounding boom of the missile coming in contact with the ground. As they heard more whistling time speed up and Hawkeye yelled to Margaret. "Margaret get outta there!" When she just sat there dumbfounded he jumped up and dragged her out of the jeep and grabbed the medical bag just in case. He started to run away from the jeep as the world around them was blown away.

When he thought they were far enough away from the jeep he let Margaret shrink to the ground and sat next to her holding her shaking body to him. He whispered to her telling her, "Everything's going to be okay. Everything's going to be okay," ever wishing it _was_ going to be okay. Every time a bomb hit the ground Margaret shrieked. Hawkeye needed her to be quiet so as to quiet his own screaming nerves. He gently lifted her chin and looked into her fearful face that usually wasn't. _"My god she looks beautiful,"_ he thought as he gazed down at her even though there were tears in her eyes, twigs in her hair and dirt smudged on her face. She gazed back at the handsome surgeon who was holding her and started to whimper and shake instead of shrieking in his face. As he leaned over with his eyes closed she closed her eyes waiting for his lips to find hers. When they did she didn't resist as he pulled her closer. The gentle kiss soon became more passionate as the bombing continued.

Then they heard whistling that sounded like it was right on top of them. Hawkeye instinctively gently pushed a whimpering Margaret onto the ground and covered her with his own body. As the sound grew closer Margaret shrieked at the top of her lungs expecting to die right there and then. But an angel must have been keeping an eye on them because it didn't get them but somewhere quite close. Then she heard a huge explosion that she could only guess was the jeep.

Above her Hawkeye tensed as he waited for the expected shrapnel. Soon he was pelted with hot metal from the now non-existent jeep. He growled in pain as the shrapnel burned through his jacket, his shirt and his skin. Then he felt something sharp pierce his leg. That was when he himself shrieked but from the blinding pain and not fear. Exhausted he slumped over Margaret who had fainted from fear. He kept shielding her long after the shelling had passed them. Soon the doctor exhausted from pain and fear fainted himself protecting Margaret. A woman who he never would have thought he would fall in love with and give up his life for.


	4. Chapter 4

Hawkeye woke up feeling something move under him. He smiled remembering he was still on top of Margaret. "May I help you Major?" he asked innocently.

Margaret mumbled some incoherent things about the handsome doctor that was on top of her. "You can get off of me Pierce," she hissed as she tried to wiggle out from under him.

He chuckled a little uneasily and replied, "I can't do that Major."

"And why not?" asked Margaret testily.

"Well you see I have this tiny thing stuck in my leg. It's not a big deal but I can't seem to get up."

Margaret sighed. He's probably just saying that for an excuse to be on top of her. "Well then just get up as much as you can so I can get up and I'll check you out."

"Only in my wildest dreams I thought I would hear you say that to me," said Hawkeye jokingly. He leaned back so she could get up and gasped in pain and collapsed onto the ground panting.

Margaret sighed again exasperated. He's probably just acting. She took a long time dusting herself off and turned around and gasped. He was looking up at her with his beautiful blue piercing eyes on his elbows with a faint smile on his lips but that wasn't what had scared her. His clothes had black burn marks on them and she could see that his skin was all red and shiny from being burned from the jeep shrapnel. But his leg was the worst. It was covered with caked blood and some of it looked quite fresh. It looked as if a piece of a door had pierced through his leg and was keeping him pinned to the ground.

She started to look desperately for the medical bag that she knew for sure he had grabbed and found it nearby. She kneeled next to him and started to peel away his jacket and shirt.

"Now, now Margaret right now isn't the time to see me without my shirt," he joked weakly.

"This isn't the time for your bravado Pierce," she snapped as she finally peeled away his shirt. She inhaled sharply and could smell burnt skin as she looked at his back. It was a total mess of red, shiny skin. She nervously chewed her bottom lip and started to clean it up. He gasped as she put disinfectant on it. "This looks bad. I didn't know you could stand something like that," she said as she finished.

"Yeah well I knew it was worth it protecting you," he said a little cynical he started to search through the medical bag looking for something. He pulled out his green army shirt and started to tug it over his head. He looked up and saw Margaret looking at him confused. He chuckled, "I always keep extra clothes in my medical bag in case I happen to ruin what I was wearing. I packed some for you too."

She looked at him suspiciously but after a nod from him she looked inside and pulled out a black turtleneck, a pair of shorts and blushed when she withdrew the third item of clothing that he had packed for her. "How'd you pack this without me knowing?" She asked as she held up her lingerie.

"I think right now you should take a look at my leg not that I'm a doctor or anything instead of thinking about modeling for me Margaret," said Hawkeye with a grin.

She quickly stuffed her clothes back inside of the bag and examined his leg. It didn't look as bad as it seemed. It hadn't pierced through the bone, as she had feared it might of but it had come really close and got the muscle instead. Again she chewed her lip and looked over at Hawkeye. He was looking at her intently and nodded in consent for her to pull it out. He turned away, closed his eyes and tensed his body for the incoming pain that he knew was going to come. Margaret wrapped her hands in his bloodied shirt and took a deep breath. She licked her lips nervously and took a strong grip on the sharp metal and wished she didn't have to do this. She steadied herself and yanked hard on the protruding metal. It came out sickingly easily. He screamed out in pain and collapsed again panting heavily.

She quickly cleaned out the wound and dressed it. When it was all done she sat down tiredly near him and closed her eyes as she leaned against a tree.

He looked over at her from the ground still on his stomach. She was probably the strongest most beautiful woman he had ever met. Here she had just probably saved his life without to many out cries. He knew it was difficult to treat someone you know. He had to treat Tommy and he hadn't lived. He dragged himself over to her and placed an arm around her shoulder. He watched her face intently to see what she would do. She opened her eyes and looked up at him. "Looking tired doesn't suit you m' lady," he said.

She smiled at him sweetly and it almost broke his heart that she wasn't his. She leaned toward him and placed her head on his shoulder. He rested his head on hers and took in the sweet lavender smell of her hair. He pulled her closer and she lifted her head looking at him pleadingly. He smiled down at the woman in his arms and playfully touched her nose with his finger. He kissed the tip of her nose and watched her face. It seemed to light up a bit like a child that knew she could get a new play thing and he felt her twine an arm around his waist and pulled herself closer to him.

They sat for a while like that just holding each other and taking glances at each other with something twinkling in their eyes. They finally leaned toward each other and lightly pressed their lips together. They leaned back in shock from the electricity that came from that simple little kiss. "Wow," breathed Margaret as she looked at the handsome doctor she was holding. She felt like the luckiest woman alive. Even though she was in the middle of nowhere in the middle of a war she had found the man she wanted to spend the rest of her life with. And he was right under her nose all this time too.

Hawkeye was feeling the same about her. Her eyes twinkled with the brightest stars in the night sky. He was starting to wonder how they became trapped in there and leaned in again and kissed her.

She twined her arms around his neck and kissed him back. He started to wind his arms around her and pulled her into him. His leg started to agitate him so he carefully laid her down onto the soft moss that wasn't as soft as her he thought. He lay down next to her and started to kiss her again. She started to run her fingers through his messy black hair that reminded her of the midnight sky. Slowly they withdrew from each other and laid down on their backs watching the sky turn into night.

Margaret placed her head on his shoulder and sighed contently. She still couldn't believe her luck. Here she was lying with the most caring and most handsome man in the world even though he did tend to have his mind in his pants, which he didn't seem to right now. And she knew he must be thinking the same. (Not the bit about the mind in the pants bit though.)

He wrapped an arm underneath her back and placed his hand on her stomach. Then he started to sing softly to her.

You got someone here wants to make alright 

_Someone who loves you more than life right here_

_You got willing arms that'll hold you tight_

_A hand to lead you through the night right here _

_I know your heart can get all tangled up inside_

_But don't you keep it to yourself_

_When your long day is over_

_And you can barely drag your feet_

_The weight of the world is on your shoulders_

_I know what you need_

_Bring it on home to me_

_You know I know like the back of my hand_

_But did you know I'm gonna do all that I can do all that I can right here_

_I'm gonna lie with you til you fall asleep_

_When the morning comes I'm still gonna be right here (Yes I am)_

_So take your worries and just drop them at the door_

_Baby leave it all behind_

_When your long day is over_

_And you can barely drag your feet_

_The weight of the world is on your shoulders_

_I know what you need_

_Bring it on home to me_

_Baby let me be your safe harbor_

_Don't let the water come and carry you away_

_When your long day is over_

_And you can barely drag your feet_

_The weight of the world is on your shoulders_

_I know what you need_

_Bring it on home to me_

_You got someone here wants to make it alright_

_Someone who loves you more them life right here_

Hawkeye looked down at the woman in his arms and saw that she had fallen asleep. He smiled and kissed her head, which woke her up. She looked at him sleepily. "I didn't know you could sing Hawk," she said as she yawned.

"Shh Baby. Just go back to sleep," he said as he stroked her soft hair. She tried her best to look defiant while trying to stifle a yawn. He chuckled and said, "My mom taught me. My dad used to complain about the racket we made while she started me off. He said it sounded like a dying cat." He chuckled again then became sober. "I had to sing at her funeral. I was only eight. I haven't sang much since then. I hardly do Happy Birthday anymore."

Margaret looked into his eyes and saw how pained they were. She placed her hand on his chest and said, "I'm so sorry Hawk."

With his free hand he grabbed her small soft hand in his big-callused one and said, "It's okay. Just go back to sleep."

She closed her eyes and Hawkeye started to hum softly to her. She soon dropped off and Hawkeye watched her beautiful peaceful face and fell asleep humming

_Someone who loves you more then life right here_.


	5. Chapter 5

Hawkeye woke up slowly feeling something heavy on his shoulder. He tried to rotate his arm but got a slap for his troubles. He smiled, opened his eyes and looked at the woman on his arm who had made it fall asleep. He kissed the top of her head and placed his head on hers. Margaret woke up feeling something on her head. She moaned and tried to figure out what it was. She patted whatever was up there with her hand and found some hair. She yanked and expected to feel some pain but someone else yelped. Remembering that she had fallen asleep with Pierce she sat up and looked at him suspiciously.

"Morning Princess." He grinned at her with his infamous grin that has brought many strong women to their knees.

Luckily she was already sitting or else she would have fallen subject to it and fallen onto the ground on her knees. She shivered in pleasure but straightened herself. "Good Morning Pierce."

Hawkeye sighed kind of sadly, "What's the matter Margaret? I thought we had a good time last night."

"We did," she said and Hawkeye brightened a bit, "But we need to find a way home."

"What that hellhole? That place is not home. Home is where the lobsters roam not the rats. Home is where my dad is possibly-," he said angrily but stopped abruptly. He started to look around with disgust and calmed himself down.

Margaret sensed something was wrong and grabbed onto his arm so that he couldn't go anywhere and hide away from her. "What's happening to your dad? Is he sick or something?"

Hawkeye refused to look at her but said, "Get me my coat." She went and got it from the pile of burned clothes. It stank horribly and she kept it well away from her. He started to pull things from his pockets looking for something. He pulled out the gun, a deck of cards, some poker chips and what looked like a worn piece of paper. When he pulled out the gun Margaret blanched thinking he was going to use it but he pointed it well away from her. He handed her the piece of paper and said bitterly, "Here this should tell you what's wrong."

A bit stung by his tone Margaret unfolded the piece of paper and found it was a letter addressed to him. It looked as if it had been opened and refolded many times.

_Dear Ben,_

_How are you doing over there? I hope you're doing great. We all wish you were here with us._

_Sarah Klooster and Tom Drenth tied the knot last Tuesday. Tom was going to make you his best man but had to settle for Dave Essenberg._

_Well the reason I'm writing to you is what happened to Daniel. He had a heart attack. I was over for tea one day. We were outside when he went to make more. I heard a crash of the teapot and waited for the usual cursing but I didn't hear any. I rushed inside and found him clutching the table. I immediately noticed what was happening and rushed him to the hospital._

_I'm sorry to tell you all of this but Daniel insisted that you know. He's still weak and is still at the hospital. I hope (and I bet the nurses hope too) that he'll soon be discharged. Whether he's sick or healthy he keeps harassing the nurses. Well you know how he is._

_Well all of us here at Crabapple Cove hope you're doing fine._

_Love,_

Irene Berg 

Margaret folded the letter and handed it back. Hawkeye's head was hanging between his knees and she could hear him sniffling slightly. She crawled over to him and started to rub his back comfortingly. "I'm sure he's okay by now. You know it takes a long time for mail from the States to get here," she said soothingly.

Hawkeye shook his head then threw back his head laughing. This startled her and she drew back. He looked at her surprised face and said, "He's still his perverted self. Harassing the nurses. Flirting with the nurses more likely. Irene's probably just jealous he's not courting her anymore at the diner."

"Who is Irene?" asked Margaret after Hawkeye had quieted down.

"Irene is a walking goddess," he said as he threw back his head dramatically. Seeing her crest fallen face he added, "But she's way to old for me. She's two years older than my dad. And _that's_ old. He's been going out with her _forever. _I've been waiting for years for him to ask her to marry him."

"Why hasn't he?" she asked. She just couldn't help being intrigued in everything Hawkeye said. There was just something so interesting about him, an air about him that got you caught up in whatever he said. No wonder he was the number one dream guy at the 4077.

"I don't know," said Hawkeye as he shook his head sadly. "It could be because he doesn't want to think I'll be disappointed with him. I know he has the rings. He just doesn't have the courage to take them out and ask her."

Margaret cocked an eyebrow and looked at him good-humouredly. "And how do you know he has the rings?'

"I don't know what you're talking about," he said innocently. Margaret kept looking at him. He sighed dramatically, "You tortured it outta me. I was looking for something in my dad's underwear drawer and I found two velvet boxes. Curious I opened them and found a diamond ring and a gold band."

"What were you looking for?" she asked as she continued to look at him with a humorous twinkle in her frosty green eyes.

"Wouldn't you like to know," he replied. He grinned at her wickedly. "Did you know you look sexy like that?" He started to crawl slowly to where she was sitting.

"Hawkeye stay away from me," she said trying to be menacing. He continued to crawl toward her with a devilish grin on his handsome face. "I mean it. Stay away from me Hawk." She started to crawl away backwards. He started to gain on her. She started to shriek in delight every time he made a grab at her foot to bring her to a stop. She smiled and started to slow down. And just as he was about to catch her she took off again.

"Hey that's not fair," he pouted, "You should let me catch you."

Margaret stopped and let him catch up to her. He continued to grin devilishly at her. Margaret laid down propped on her elbows looking at him expectantly. Hawkeye crawled over to her until he was level with her. He propped his head up with his hand and kept grinning at her.

"With that knowledge what are you going to do Capitan?" she asked with a husky voice as she flipped her hair back. She could smell his strong, irresistible cologne over all the other forest smells. It was driving her crazy with desire.

For a second a flash of anger took control of his face as she said Capitan. Margaret moved an inch away from him but soon he had that wicked grin on his face and she relaxed.

"Oh I don't know," he said as if he was thinking deeply. He looked up at her with a matching wicked twinkle in his eyes. "Maybe this."

He lunged at her and she shrieked in surprise. He pulled her into him and kissed her roughly on the mouth. At first she tried to get away but he pinned her down with his hands. His body pressed into hers and rubbed her down with his body. Slowly he drew away and sat down next to her catching his breath. She herself was breathing hard and her chest rose and fell heavily.

Then he looked at her and she at him. He grinned and said, "Up for round two?"

She nodded still breathless. He bent down and kissed her face softly with many feathery kisses. He climbed on top of her with her hips between his knees so he could get to her better. His kisses started to trail down her neck. She moaned with pleasure. He started to explore her with his hands with as much tenderness he could muster without too much lust. Now his kisses were more feverish as he kissed her. Her own fingers danced across his body and kissed him back just as feverish. He started to nip her ears gently and she yelped softly and wiggled under him. Then some how she managed to get his shirt off and he her light jacket. Now he was able to get to her better and his hands found themselves under her shirt and massaging her tensed stomach. She moaned again with pleasure and started to run her hands along his thighs. Now it was his turn to moan.

Hawkeye started to fiddle around with her pants and she broke away from him. "Hawkeye please don't," she breathed.

"Come on Margaret," he said as he trailed kisses down her neck again and sucked at her sweet tasting skin as he went down. She moaned just as he wanted her to.

"No, we got to stop." She gently pushed him away and sat up. She was slightly dizzy now from their intoxicating rendezvous. She started to fan herself with her hand in a futile effort to cool herself down.

Hawkeye was also trying to cool down. He was panting like a dog caught out in a heat wave. He ran his fingers through his hair and which made some wisps of hair to fall in front of his eyes sexily.

She looked at him and moaned. Why was he so darn good looking? She needed him to touch her, love her. _"Damn hormones."_ She thought and moaned again. It wasn't the hormones and she knew it. She was attracted to him and even him just sitting there panting turned her on. She turned away so she wouldn't be tempted to go further with him.

As he sat there panting from their little piece of cloud nine he smiled at the effect he had on her and the effect she had on him. Just touching her made him drunk. He was as drunk as if he had drank 3 entire deposits from the still from the Swamp. He looked over at her and saw that she had turned away probably so she wouldn't be tempted by him.

Then as if she could feel him looking at her she looked at him over her shoulder. Her eyes sent him a message about what was going on in her mind. They weren't glaring at him like they usually do so she wasn't angry at him. They showed definitely lust mixed with something a little lacking that wasn't usually there, love. Also there was something that he had never seen in her before. Certainly he had seen that look in hundreds of soldiers as they came in to the 4077 to be patched up but never in her. It was fear. Fear of what he didn't know.

Hawkeye moved closer and wrapped an arm around her. She turned so she was on her back and Hawkeye's arm was around her shoulders. His hand rested on her stomach gently rubbing it. She sighed contently and snuggled into his chest. Then a loud noise erupted from her stomach. She almost jumped up and placed her hand on her stomach as if to quiet down the beast that was in her stomach. It growled again and she became aware of Hawkeye's mouth twitching. She glared at him again but lost it when her stomach reminded her that it was still hungry.

That was when Hawkeye just lost it laughing. He started to roll on the ground grasping his sides. He quieted down and said, "Sorry Baby. I got something for your beast." He stumbled over to the medical bag with a great amount of wincing because of his leg and fetched a silver flask. "Here this should sooth the savage beast," he said as he sat own panting from his excursion.

Margaret eyed the flask suspiciously and after a grin and a nod from Hawkeye took a swig. She sputtered a bit but finally gulped the down the fiery drink. She handed it back and choked, "What the hell is that?"

He took a swig himself and smacked his lips. "Latest batch from the still." He handed it back and she drank more of it. This time it didn't burn that much.

"You know what? We should probably find a way back. We can't live out here forever. And I doubt we'll be able to get to Tokyo now," said Margaret after she had taken another swig. She handed it back and waited for his reply.

He got a far away look in his eyes and took a couple swigs. Finally he closed his eyes and looked at her. "Okay. But first I think you should go get me a crutch or something."

She nodded and set off looking for a strong, sturdy branch. She looked around for fifteen minutes without any luck until she found one she liked. She reached for it and grabbed it but then felt something latch itself on to her hand. She felt it sink fangs in between her thumb and index finger. She yelled and it let go with a hiss and slithered under the brush. She ran off toward Hawkeye crying the whole way. Her hand was already starting to swell from the poison. She collapsed next to him sobbing thinking she was going to die. "Oh Hawk. I was just looking for a crutch for you and this snake bit me. Oh Hawk please do something."

He gingerly took her hand and studied it. It was starting to look all puffy and red. He glanced at her then bent down and started to suck the poison out. He quickly spat it out and sucked more out. After a few times the swelling started to go down and he continued until her hand was back to normal.

Margaret looked at her hand and flexed it. It looked and felt better. "Thank you Hawk. For a moment I thought I was a goner there."

"Not on my watch you're not," he said teasingly as he tugged on a lock of her hair. He started to curl the lock around his finger and looked into her eyes with his piercing blue ones.

As he looked into her frosty green eyes she finally broke from holding her lust and tackled him to the ground. She held his arms down eagle spread and kissed him hungrily on the mouth.

He was surprised at this sudden turn of events. When she finally stopped to catch her breath he asked, "Whoa. What are ya doing Hot Lips? I thought the plan was to go back. I'm flattered and all but now I don't think is the time to do this."

"Well sometimes after people have a near death experience they decide to live it up," breathed Margaret.

"But all it was a snake bite. I like your way of rewarding me and all that but this isn't the time to do this. Maybe after we get back we could have a few drinks and one thing will lead to another." He grinned wickedly then asked out of the blue, "If Ferret Face was here instead of me, would you do the same thing with him?"

"What? Hell no," said Margaret disgustingly as she sat up.

"Okay, I just wanted to know," said Hawkeye. Then he grabbed her by the waist, pulled her into him and rolled a few times with her until he was on top of her. He gazed down at her and felt her under him go limp. He grinned with anticipation thinking about what was going to happen next.

He presumed his position from earlier and started to kiss her heatedly. His hands snaked up her shirt and rubbed her sides memorizing every goose bump on her skin he influenced, memorized by the feel of her soft pale skin. She wriggled her hips vigorously as he squeezed them with his knees, which really turned him on. She loved the way his lean muscular frame laid on top of her. And he loved the way they seemed to fit together. He slowly started to move his knees so they were between hers now. Margaret started to shudder as he kept sliding up and down on top of her. He now started to unzip her pants and started to slide them down her legs. Which were soon followed by her underwear.

He started to unzip his own pants when Margaret said, "Wait, Hawkeye maybe we should be getting back."

"Damn it Margaret," growled Hawkeye as he sat up and climbed off of her. "Make up your damned mind." He pulled on his shirt from earlier and sulked.

"At least I don't have my mind in my pants," said Margaret as she tugged on all of her clothes that he had disposed of.

"I don't think like that," defended Hawkeye.

"Oh only during surgery you don't think like that but even then you're always using your sick pick-up lines on the nurses." She stood up angrily and stood over the six foot-two surgeon. "Now why don't we just forget all of this and go back and go back to normal."

"Normal is a setting on a washing machine," said Hawkeye bitterly as he propped himself up with the crutch Margaret had thankfully hadn't dropped when she was bitten by that snake. Margaret grabbed the medical bag and started off toward where she thought the road was. Hawkeye being injured lagged behind a bit because of the fast pace she was setting. "Damn it Margaret slow down," he growled loudly.

Margaret just merely glanced over her shoulder at him but slowed down considerably. Then finally after a long time she stopped and sat down. He plopped down near her and leaned back panting. "Oh hell. Do you even know where you're going? For all you know we could be going _away_ from the road."

She didn't look at him. She didn't even say anything. All she did was point to the ground. That was when he noticed the jeep tracks from when he had floored it.

"Ahh, I see. I guess all those years in the army did teach you something other then flirt with Generals," joked Hawkeye trying to get a reaction from her. Yet again she said nothing but bow her head so her dirty blonde hair covered her face. "Come on, are you even going to talk to me?" he inquired. "For all we know we might be the last people in Korea and they all killed themselves. So maybe we could at least be on speaking terms."

Margaret mumbled something and crossed her arms. "What? I didn't quite catch that," said Hawkeye as he cupped his ear.

Margaret shook her hair out of her face and shot him an icy glare but she was smiling. "You're such an ass Hawkeye."

Hawkeye grabbed at his heart as if he was mortally wounded. "Man Margaret you sure know how to hurt a man," he joked.

Margaret snorted and rolled her eyes. He really does act like an ass. She looked over at him and he winked at her. Yep he is an ass but she loves him for it.

Margaret looked over at Hawkeye curiously. She has had something on her mind for what seems forever but she just couldn't figure out how to ask him. Oh yeah she was just going to say casually, "It's really nice here. Maybe we could build a house here. And oh yeah why did you kidnap me?" That would just make him laugh. She licked her lips nervously. "Hawkeye, why did you…? How could you possibly think of…?"

"Kidnap you?" he finished for her. She was a little surprised that he could guess that. It was if he could read her mind. But of course he's probably been waiting for her to ask. She nodded and leaned back to hear what he had to say.

"I thought you would want to go with me," he said innocently. Margaret threw a punch at him. "Why do you punch so hard?" he asked playfully as he rubbed his shoulder that was later going to have a bruise.

Margaret rolled her eyes. "Just suck it up you big baby," she said testily. "Why did you do that?"

"Do what?"

Margaret growled in frustration. "You know what. Kidnapping me. Was it because I just happened to be there? Or was it that you didn't want it to seem suspicious if you went off by yourself after that rant you had in the mess tent? Or did you just think you could later have a little fun with me?" she asked as Hawkeye became more quiet and somber.

"I don't know," he said simply.

"Do you mean I don't know or that I don't want to talk about it?"

Hawkeye remained silent and stood up with his crutch. Then slowly he hobbled away.

"Hawkeye get back here!" she screeched," Pierce get over here and tell me why!" He just shook his head and kept going. She grabbed the medical bag and hurried after him. How could such a wonderful man annoy her so much? Margaret caught up to him, grabbed his arm and twirled him around so she could talk to him. "What the hell was that? You had better tell me now or I'll scream and alert everyone that we're here."

"You wouldn't. You're just bluffing," scoffed Hawk.

He continued to walk away when an angry shaking Margaret opened her mouth and screamed as loud as her lungs would let her. And that is pretty loud. He quickly turned, abandoned his crutch and in three long painful strides was in front of her and clamped his hand over her mouth and hissed, "Why in the hell did you do that?" She glared at him over his hand that was still clamped over her mouth. He sighed. "Will you promise you won't yell?" She continued to glare at him and he removed his had and slumped a bit from his pain but Margaret just yelled again. He clamped his hand over her mouth again. "What the hell is your problem? Are you trying to get us captured?"

She tried to talk but his hand muffled her reply. He slowly removed his hand and collapsed on the ground from the pain of standing on his injured lag. She stood over him and hissed, "What's my problem? What's _my_ problem? You are my problem. You're an ignorant, womanizing jackass. I don't plan on staying here in 'paradise' a moment longer then I have to with you.

"Americans could be around too you know. There could be other people than the North Koreans around here. Now we just have to wait," concluded Margaret as she sat down.

"Yeah, wait for the enemy to find us and kill us," mumbled Hawkeye. "So you wonder why I went psycho on ya?" She nodded as she crossed her arms impatiently. "Well as you've probably guessed I went insane from the news of my dad, operating on that seven-year-old girl who didn't live. Then piled on to of that a sexy major decided to help me sort out my problems. Which as you see worked quite well."

He rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "Now as to kidnapping you. I think it was a mixture of all three. Well, you _did _happen to be there. And my criminal mind didn't want to look suspicious if I just up and left. So I brought you." He glanced over at her with a mischievous glint in his eyes and added, "Also you're such a sexy companion."

"Don't even try it buster." She glared at him and turned away to check the contents of his medical bag. Why was he such an ass? She felt lust and desire for him without him talking like that already. She felt love too somewhere in there but she just wanted to be mad for a little while.

"Try what?" asked Hawkeye innocently. Of course he knew what she was thinking about. And he was thinking a bit about it but mostly about how he wanted her just not in mind but something deeper. He didn't know quite what but he wanted it.

He started to think about the ring he had with him all the time but had totally forgotten about. He fingered it hanging on his dog tags and thought about what his mother had said about it.

_---"Give this to the woman you find that you just couldn't live without," said his mother as she sat on an overstuffed chair near the fireplace while she gave him a ring that looked as if it was braided of sliver vines with a sapphire flower._

"_Okay mom," he had replied._

_That very night she died in her sleep from cancer. She was only 26. ---_

He came back from his memory and looked at the concerned woman watching him and smiled. He knew he had found the woman.


	6. Chapter 6

Margaret opened her mouth to say something as Hawkeye smiled at her with tenderness with a mixture of sadness and happiness but she heard movement nearby. She sat up alert like a meerkat and looked around for who it might be. All she could see was several men searching for something. She jumped up and started to call while waving her arms, "We're over here! We're right here!"

Hawkeye grabbed her and pulled her down next to him. "What in the hell are you doing? You don't even know if they're Americans," he hissed.

"Anyone would be better than you," she snapped as she yanked herself out of his vice like grip. She jumped back up in time to see several Korean men walk toward her. "Oh shit they're Koreans," she swore. She quickly sat back down.

"Well we can't exactly do anything about that, now could we? Since you decided to take it upon yourself to have them find us. We probably now have North Koreans right behind us."

"You wouldn't tell me why you kidnapped me!" whispered Margaret angrily. "It was the only way to get you to talk to me."

"Well if you'd been patient and nice I would have eventually told you." Hawkeye was now starting to shake with anger. She had put them into danger just because she couldn't get her way. He grabbed her arm and when she tried to get away he whispered to her menacingly, "It doesn't matter now what I wouldn't tell you. We have a problem now. Now either we keep sitting here like sitting ducks or we try to get away."

Margaret got shivers from his voice and she looked into his eyes. She noticed they were as cold as steel and she nodded humbly. "So what do we do?"

Hawkeye sat there for a while thinking up a plan. "You're not going to do anything," said Hawkeye as he glanced over at the Koreans over his shoulder as they cautiously made over to them.

"What do you mean I'm not going to do anything? I got us into this and I should get us out," said Margaret hot-headily.

"What are you going to do? Are you gonna start flirting with them? They probably don't know English and I doubt your Korean vocabulary extends to 'Hi sexy'." He started to dig through his pockets while he kept glancing at the advancing Koreans.

He found what he was looking for and said, "I'll distract them and that should give you enough time to get away." He looked at her lovingly, gave her a quick passionate kiss and before she could protest, he stood up and started waving the gun around shouting with all the dirty Korean he knew.

She sat there dumbly but moved when he looked down and saw that she was still there. "Get outta here Margaret!"

She started crawling away as tears silently flowed down her cheeks. She could hear several bullets shot and heard more shouting. She crawled until she couldn't hear anymore. Hawkeye had sacrificed himself for her to get away. How amazing his love must be. Now the tears flowed faster and she didn't even try to brush them away. She sat there for a while crying over her lost companion. Finally exhausted from sadness and tiredness she curled up into a ball and fell asleep into a deep sleep.

Margaret woke up feeling someone trying to shake her awake. "Go away Pierce," she mumbled. She curled into a tighter ball and started to drift back asleep. She heard someone talk but couldn't figure out what was being said. Then someone grabbed hold of her hair and pulled her up into a sitting position.

She blinked open her eyes against the pain as tears threatened to spill. She looked up into the face of the person who had her hair in his grasp. It was a rather long face with a low forehead. It had short black hair very much like a certain surgeon. The nose was a bit pointy and looked like it had been broken once. The mouth was just one sneering line. And the eyes, the eyes were black as briquettes of coal but they burned with undying hate.

The face spoke to her in broken English. "You American?" She didn't reply and he shook his handful of hair, which made her yep in pain. She nodded and he yanked on her hair. "Up." She got up a bit shakily and he shoved her to a small group of men who were standing nearby.

She finally woke up from her daze and thought about going all Major on them but thought better of it. They each ad a gun and had them pointed at her. Some were hardly even 19. The men surrounded her and walked her back to their camp. They didn't speak to each other or anything. They pretty much ignored her even though they were making sure she didn't escape.

While they walked she looked closely at each of the five men who surrounded her. She couldn't see much of any of them though. The one in front of her was as tall as Hawkeye and had long black hair that was braided down his back. The one on her right was short and stocky and what looked like a scar on the left side of his face. The one on her left was quite young. He seemed about 17 and seemed nervous about something. It was probably his first assignment. The two behind her looked like they could be brothers. They were both about the same height and same face but one had a broken nose and the other had a scar across his forehead.

They kept walking for a while until they all of a sudden stopped. She almost collided with the Korean in front of her. She stopped just a few inches away from him. She looked around him and saw the man from before talking to what looked like a sentry. The sentry looked over at her and nodded to the man. They continued to walk until she could see tents set up in a horseshoe. They were all pretty simple except the one at the top of the horseshoe. It had a canopy of red cloth and it had a red lantern hanging in front of the door.

They walked up to the tent but took a sharp right to the outskirts of the campsite to another ring of Koreans standing to attention. They seemed to be guarding something and when they parted to let her through she almost cried out in joy.

"Hawkeye! Hawkeye! I'm so glad to see you. I almost thought I wouldn't see you again," she cried as she rushed over to him.

Hawkeye looked up at her startled from where he was kneeling hoping she was just a hallucination. She came over to him and threw her arms around him. He just sat there dazed as she started to sob in relief.

He put his arms around her and buried his face in her sweet smelling hair. He cried along with her saying, "It's okay. Shhhhh Baby. Everything's all right."

After she had quieted down he grasped her shoulders and peered into her face. "What happened? I thought you had gotten away."

Margaret brushed away a few stray tears and replied, "I did but when I woke up they had found me and walked me here. Where is here anyway?" She started to look around for something that could tell her where they were.

Hawkeye sighed and said, "I don't know where we are except somewhere between the 4077 and Seoul.

"I just hope we can get out of here soon. The food's worse her than the mess tent's," he said trying to lighten the doom feeling air that surrounded them.

Just as he said that the cruel looking Korean came walking up to them with a sneer plastered on his face. He tossed them some bread and cheese and left them rather disgustedly. They made short work of their meal and sat there awhile stuck in their own separate thoughts about their future.

Margaret tried to think of a way to get out of there but failed. If only help would arrive soon and rescue them. She felt like just giving up everything seemed hopeless. They were surrounded by men with guns and before they could make it a few feet they would probably be shot down. She looked over at Hawkeye's thoughtful face and thought if she were going to die at least she would be with someone she loved.

Hawkeye was thinking of their predicament also but not as intensely. His mind kept drifting to a possible married future between them if they ever got out of there. He kept glancing over at her slyly and seeing her beautiful face contorted into a look of concentration. Every time he did so his heart would start to beat faster and he had to look away lest she noticed him looking at her. He also kept thinking about the ring on his dog tags and wondered how it would look on her left hand.

He cleared his throat and waited for her to look at him. He turned so he was facing her and grasped her hand. "I'm not sure if we're going to get out of here." Margaret opened her mouth to complain, but he raised a hand. "But if we do or don't I would like to ask you a question." He stopped to get a sign from her to continue. She nodded and he drew his dog tags. He took off something that glittered in the fading sun. He held it up and looked deep into her eyes. "Will you marry me?"

She could feel his eyes piercing into her soul looking for an answer to his question. They sat that way for about a minute looking into each other's eyes when Margaret opened her mouth to answer but their reverie was broken by a visitor.

They looked up and saw a man with a leading air to him. He was quite tall and broad. He was handsome too even with a scar from his right temple along his jawbone to his mouth. He looked gravely at Hawkeye and assessed him. Then he turned to Margaret and his face lit up. He looked her over in a way that made her shiver in disgust. Without taking his eyes off of her he talked to the cruel man to his left who answered him and called out to a soldier from the camp to come.

Hawkeye realized what was going on before Margaret fully understood what was happening. He had recognized the look that was in the commander's eyes as one that had probably haunted his own eyes as he looked over the nurses at the camp. He quickly dumped his mother's ring onto a pocket and held her close to him.

She finally realized what was happening and wrapped her arms around him. She clung to him as she felt someone tug at her waist to get up. They kept pulling at her as the distance between Hawkeye and her lengthened until they were only merely touching by the tips of their fingertips. She started crying as they finally parted them and pulled her away from him. She tried to get back into his comforting arms. She started punching and kicking the person who started to haul her away to the tent with the red lantern as she cried out Hawkeye's name.


	7. Chapter 7

Hawkeye lunged after her but was caught by the arms by two of the men how had guarded them. The commander and his lackey came up to him and studied him as he tried to work his way from his captors to get to Margaret who was being dragged away from him.

"You sons of bitches! Let her go! Let her go now!" shouted Hawkeye into the commander's face. The commander sneered and ordered a soldier to beat on Hawkeye.

The soldier punched him in the gut several times, which made him double over in pain. Then he was punched in the face several times, which made him to begin to see colored dots dance in front of his eyes. He tried to shake his head to clear them but the next punch boxed him on the ear. Everything turned black and felt as if he was floating inside of himself. He could feel more punches in the stomach but it felt as if he could feel it from afar. Like he wasn't in his body anymore.

When he opened his eyes he was on the dusty ground on his sore back. He picked his head up and shook the hair and dust out of his eyes. He looked up and saw the commander looking down at him with a smirk. Then he spat on Hawkeye, turned and walked to his tent where Margaret was.

Hawkeye laid there panting painfully as he checked for anything broken. His leg seemed to be fine except it was hurting like hell. They must have kicked him several times while he was out. His ribs felt intact and he guessed several of them were bruised. His gut felt strange though. Of course it was his first time being punched in the stomach so he didn't know how it felt afterward. His left eye felt bruised and he guessed he'll probably have a nice black eye by morning. Other than that he was fine.

He heard muffled yells and crashes coming from the tent with the red lantern. "Damn it. They better not do anything to her or I'll give them hell to pay." He tried not to think about what was happening to Margaret. He turned his head away and tried to think of something else. He eventually started thinking about his childhood home. In his mind he wandered the house into every room and remembering the memories that each held.

Hawkeye broke out of his daydreaming hearing shouts coming from the camp but soon dismissed it as the commander and Margaret. The image that popped into his mind sent shivers down his spine. Then he heard several gun shots and his attention was perked. He looked around trying to see what was happening and heard instructions in English being shouted. He then realized they were there to rescue him and Margaret.

"Hey I'm over here! I'm over here!" he shouted as he stood up but one of the men guarding him elbowed him back. Then it seemed as if they finally realized he was there and surrounded him as he backed up. They pointed their guns at him as if they were going to shoot him so his rescuers wouldn't be able to get him back alive.

"Now, now guys. Are you sure you don't want to talk all this over a drink?" He raised his arms as they all walked closer to him menacingly. "Okay, I guess not."

He looked over the shoulder of one of the men and saw the commander walk out of his tent while tying a robe around himself asking what was going on. As he strode farther away he stopped abruptly and held up his hands with a scowl on his face.

Hawkeye watched as soldiers from his side began to search the camp for prisoners. He wanted to shout out to them except there were several guns that were saying if you do anything you'll die. He craned his neck to see if any were coming that way and saw several creeping up to surprise the men holding him at gunpoint.

He craned his neck again and one of the men cocked his gun, which made Hawkeye flinch. The man said something Korean to Hawkeye and motioned with his gun. "Oh you want me to turn around. So you can shoot me in the back?" The man motioned again and made a movement as if he turned the safety off. "Okay, okay I'm turning. I'm turning."

When he turned around he heard some commotion behind him and started to turn. Then time seemed to slow down. There was a bang and he felt pain in his arm. He clasped his left arm and heard a thud as the Korean who had shot him fall to the ground after being hit with the butt of a rifle.

Hawkeye brought his hand up to his face and saw that it was covered in blood. _His_ blood he slowly realized. _"Damn. Now I have an arm to match my back and leg," _he couldn't help thinking.

A soldier came up to him and said, "Anything I can help with?"

"No thanks, I'm a doctor. I'm also my own doctor and I say I need a doctor. But first I need to find my… friend. I think she's in the tent over there." Hawkeye indicated the tent and the soldier nodded.

"Yeah, there's a woman in there, but she won't let anyone near her. She keeps sobbing and saying 'Hawkeye'. Whatever that means." He shrugged and looked at Hawkeye with concern. "You sure you don't need help?"

"No, I'm fine. It's just a scratch," replied Hawk.

The soldier nodded and walked to help round up the North Koreans.

Hawkeye quickly wiped his hand on his pants and walked to the tent where Margaret was. He peered inside and took awhile to adjust to the light. He could hear whimpering near the back of the tent and slowly made his way toward the noise. He found Margaret in a corner wearing nothing but her under clothing. He found a blanket and cautiously made his way to her holding it like a shield as if she was a dangerous animal that could strike without warning. As he got closer he could hear Margaret muttering his name.

"Margaret?" he called softly. She looked up at him with an outraged look on her face, but when she saw him she relaxed. "Here you should cover yourself young lady before you catch a chest cold."

She smiled and let Hawkeye wrap it around her. She clutched it around her and looked at Hawkeye thankfully. "Thank goodness those soldiers came."

"Yeah. How do you feel? Do you feel okay? You're not hurt or anything?" She shook her head. "Okay well then we should find you some clothes…"

"Wait," said Margaret noticing his arm. "You're hurt."

Hawkeye looked at his arm. "What this? It's just a scratch."

"Come here. I'll check it out," said Margaret taking charge. Hawkeye obeyed and she looked at his wound. It was just a scratch, but it was from a bullet. She glanced at him and he gave her one of his lopsided grin. She blushed and started ripping strips from the sheets that were on the bed in the tent. She wound the strips around his wound.

When she was done Hawkeye put a hand under her chin and lifted her face to look at him. His piercing eyes searched her face then he leaned over and kissed her softly. She melted at that simple little act of love and returned his kiss. She ran a hand through his raven black hair and he put a hand around her waist and pulled her closer. She put an arm around his neck and pulled herself even closer.

They continued kissing until Margaret broke off breathlessly, "We should probably be leaving and I need to find some clothes. I don't think I can take any cat calls from the soldiers if I walked out like this."

Hawkeye sighed. "We probably should. I'll wait for you outside." He got up and left her.

Margaret watched the tent flap watching were he had just left then started searching for her clothes.


	8. Chapter 8

Here's the last chapter my pretties! I hope you enjoy it! 

Hawkeye limped across the compound to the mess tent. He walked in and got in the dinner line. He saw that Margaret was in front of him and smiled. "Long time no see Major."

She glanced at him then continued on her way down the line. "We just saw each other about an hour ago about how your back's doing Hawk."

"Yeah, but it seems like a long time since I've seen your pretty face."

She glared at him. "Pierce, I would like to see you in my tent _alone_ after you have done eating."

"Ahh. A dream come true," said Hawkeye as he grinned mischievously.

"It's about what had happened a week ago."

Hawkeye's smile faltered for a second but it was back even if it looked a bit forced. She almost thought she didn't see it falter until she looked into his eyes and saw a tint of pain in his beautiful blue eyes. "Sure, meet you there Baby."

"That's Major to you," snapped Margaret.

"Oh, meet you there Major Baby."

She glared at him and went to sit with Charles. Hawkeye shook his head and joined the Colonel and B.J.

"What'd you do Hawk?" asked B.J.

"Do what?" countered Hawkeye as he looked down at his bland food on his tray.

"Why's Margaret looking a tad angry?" asked B.J. again.

"Oh, she just can't take an old joke. An oldie but a goodie," replied Hawkeye.

"You better watch it Pierce. I'm not sure she's forgiven you for that stunt you pulled," said Potter.

"Yeah, well she wants to talk about 'that stunt' after this gruel you call food. I don't have much of an appetite. I think I'll just go wait for the Major in her tent."

After he had left Potter shook his head and said, "That boy sure is a handful." B.J. nodded his agreement and watched his buddy walk to the Head Nurse's tent.

Hawkeye seated himself on her bed to wait for her. He inhaled deeply and could smell the faint lavender smell of her shampoo that made him half crazy with desire. Just then Margaret walked into her tent. She stopped when she saw Hawkeye lounging on her cot and blushed softly from the thoughts that were going through her mind.

Hawkeye seemed to read her mind and gave her a cheeky grin. "What are you thinking about Major? Is it anything obscene or something I should know about?"

She cleared her throat and sat at her desk. "I wish to talk about what had happened a week ago."

"We already know that. What in particular do you want to talk about?" interrupted Hawkeye.

Margaret blushed slightly and cleared her throat again. "Do you really want to marry me?" she asked as she was ashamed asking it.

Hawkeye sat up on the edge of her cot and watched her a moment. This wasn't the Major Houlihan he knew from around the camp that gave orders left and right. And this certainly wasn't Hot Lips as she would have been all over him if he were a General. This must be the Margaret Houlihan he had only glimpsed only a handful of times. Which a few were from about a week ago. This blushing woman in front of him who wasn't looking at him was the third personality of this amazing woman he had fallen in love with.

He got up and went to her side and grasped her hand. "Of course not." She sighed a bit defeated but soon straightened up and was about to tell him an apology when he said, "I really, really want to marry you."

She looked up at him with surprise and he took out a certain sapphire ring and slipped it on her finger. He kissed her hand and looked at her with love in his eyes and kissed her passionately on the mouth. She wound her arms around his neck and pulled herself closer to him. He picked her up, carefully set her on her bed and climbed on top of her. As they kissed Margaret gave some passion long overdue to the man of her dreams as Hawkeye did to her.

After an hour of some much heated and passionate kissing the couple walked over to the Officer's Club and walked in holding each other. Everyone in camp was getting a drink when Hawkeye and Margaret went up to the bar to get drinks. Nobody hadn't even noticed the way they were intertwined with each other. When Margaret reached for her drink Potter glanced at her hand and took a double take. "You're engaged Margaret?!" exclaimed Potter as he looked at her with a shocked expression on his face.

The whole room went quiet and Margaret blushed a deep red. "Yes Colonel. I am."

"Is it anyone we know?" asked B.J. on the other side of Potter. He had had a bit much to drink and couldn't see that Margaret and Hawkeye were joined hip to hip.

"Well yes. It is I the sworn for life bachelor am marrying the lovely Major," said Hawkeye as he gave a small bow. She smiled and the place was silent for a second as the place let the information sink in. Then the place burst into applause. There were several "Finally!"s too added into the mixture of congrats and well wishes.

Hawkeye and Margaret smiled and accepted the congratulations. Hawkeye walked over to Father Mulcahy and asked, "Father, would you do the honors of marrying us?"

"Well certainly Hawkeye," replied Mulcahy.

"This calls for a drink," called Potter, "A round of drinks on me." Once the drinks had been passed Potter raised his glass and toasted. "A toast to the soon to be happily married couple. May you two have a wonderful life together." Everyone drank and cheered for the couple.

They spent the night giving toasts and drinks to the engaged and after a long while they all left until only a few drunken servicemen were left in the building.

Hawkeye surveyed the scene. "Wow, that was some engagement party. I can't wait to see what they do for the bachelor and wedding parties."

Margaret looked over the room too and said with a yawn, "It's time to hit the sack."

"What a perfect suggestion," said Hawkeye as he wrapped his arms around her waist from behind.

She patted his hands and replied, "Not until we're married buster. I want to do this right."

"Okay, I think I can wait. How about tomorrow?"

"No, at _least_ a month so we can plan a bit," sighed Margaret.

"What's to plan? Klinger I bet has a dress and the cook could at least try to make something edible out of what we have," said Hawkeye trying to persuade her while softly kissing the hollow of the neck and gently licking the spot he had kissed. She moaned and melted slightly in his arms, but still said no.

"Okay, okay. I'll wait a month," whispered Hawkeye as he continued to kiss her neck. Margaret leaned against his lean frame and let him kiss her as he slowly but surely made his way down her neck and collarbone. Then she felt something hard in the middle of the small of her back and leaned away from him. She turned, looked at him bemused, gave him a long goodnight kiss, and left to go to bed. Hawkeye watched her leave and smiled to himself in anticipation for what was going to happen in a month.

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

A month later Father Mulcahy blessed the union between Margaret and Hawkeye. When she had walked down the aisle with Potter as her escort Hawkeye's breath had been taken away. Klinger had made her a wonderfully beautiful dress made of a soft white cloth. It reached down to her knees with a slit up the side to her hip. It had a halter-top that had an emerald star pin below the opening.

And Margaret thought the same about him. He was wearing a new tux that he had ordered from a local Korean. It was a fresh looking black with a red silk handkerchief hanging from the pocket. He also had a fresh local flower in his lapel. She saw that he was fidgeting slightly and smiled when she noticed he was as nervous as she.

When Mulcahy said you may kiss the bride, they looked deep into each other's eyes with deep love and passion. They kissed which ended with Hawkeye dipping her and the tent cheered. They all filed outside so the tent could be changed so they could have the reception.

B.J. the best man and groom were talking. Hawkeye was still nervous and told his friend so. "Don't worry Hawk marriage is great. Take it from me." He slapped his buddy's arm and walked into the tent to give his speech.

That night in Margaret's tent the now married couple were sitting together in each other's arms. His jacket and shirt were folded over the back of her desk chair and the covers were folded down. "So, Mrs. Pierce what would you like to do?" asked Hawkeye.

"I know what you want to do," replied Margaret.

"Oh, and what is that?" asked Hawkeye good-humouredly.

"To have a little night time fun with your new wife."

"Isn't that what you want to do?" asked Hawkeye innocently.

Margaret smiled. "But I don't have a wife. _I'm_ the wife."

Hawkeye smiled back at her. "You know what I meant."

"Yeah, I could have," said Margaret as she got up and grabbed a sign she had freshly made that morning. She opened the door and situated it on the door. She walked back to Hawkeye who grabbed her waist and pulled her down onto his lap.

"What was that you put out there?"

"Oh just a sign that says, 'If the tent's a rockin' don't come a knockin'.'"

Hawkeye looked down at her with a fake expression of surprise. "Why Mrs. Pierce I didn't know you were so vulgar." But it soon was replaced with a devilish grin. "I would like to get to know your vulgar side a bit more better."

Margaret smiled and let Hawkeye lay her down and climb on top of her. "Why not? I bet it's easier than snapping."


End file.
